HSTs on up sleeper 01-02-06

[James]

Thanks to a bizarre series of events involving failed 57s (again), and the failure of Cotswold Rail 47 "Joe Strummer" at Bristol Parkway en-route to Penzance to take over, the up sleeper is tonight being hauled by two HST powercars back to back, dragging a 57 (providing ETH)!!!

I hope someone gets pictures!

[madhattie]

I hope someone gets pictures!

A more mad sequence of events would be hard to come by! If you read it in a book it would be dismissed as being too unbelievable!

Anyway, apparently it's now coming via Bristol where it will meet the return working which is going to be hauled by 2x57s from Paddington. One of those 57s will then take the Penzance sleeper onward from TM to Paddington.

Or something.....

Top marks to the guys who have to run the railways nowadays and haven't gone mad or grey before their time and will get this train to it's destination! Of course in the old days they could have simply aquired a loco from Penzance, Newton Abbot, Exeter, Taunton etc, even before it got to Bristol. What a great way to run a modern transport system.

And isn't it funny how just after the government wanted to get rid of the sleeper service that they are having these constant problems with the locos that haul it.....

conspiracy theories anyone....

[stumpytrain]

Some good photos can be found here:

http://www.railchat.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=3242&start=90

Alex
Bristol PSB